Nights
by firstdragonrider
Summary: Sally was scared of sleeping. It was so similar to being dead, or worse; in limbo. The concept of closing her eyes and not opening them for an extended period of time did not strike a good bell in her mind. So she didn't sleep. Sally/Aidan Fluff.


_Being Human has taken over my life. I don't want to do. Help. *flails* _

_**Nights**_

Apparently the nights were the hardest. Sally still hadn't gotten used to the idea that she had to sleep for nearly seven hours. For the first few days it was funny, especially when Sally would slip up in conversation because her tired slur of words couldn't be made sense of. They all poked at her and told her that she had to get used to a normal schedule again. By the end of two weeks she was getting twitchy. He had asked her why she couldn't sleep and she just said that her brain couldn't make sense of it yet. She nearly begged herself to tell him the truth, but it never came out.

Sally was scared of sleeping. It was so similar to being dead, or worse; in limbo. The concept of closing her eyes and not opening them for an extended period of time did not strike a good bell in her mind. So she didn't sleep. One night, Josh and Nora went out on a date. There were assurances that they wouldn't be back until tomorrow and Sally had curled up on the couch with some form of a soap opera blaring on the TV. It was close to one in the morning when Aidan unlocked the door, his hand grasping the frame to the house for support as he shut his eyes tight. He had been out since yesterday. He needed sleep.

As did the figure on the couch. She was completely passed out, her mouth open in a rather unattractive but cute fashion and her arms slung off of the couch like a zombie. Aidan allowed himself a small smile at the scene before moving toward the sofa. He turned off the television set and then grasped her arm firmly, giving a slight squeeze with the whisper of her name off his lips. She woke with a start, her mouth snapping shut. He almost jumped in response to her sudden movements but managed to rise calmly with one hand still on her arm.

"Time to go to bed Sally," he murmured, pulling her up from the couch.

"I'm s'not trrred," she slurred, balancing on her feet and holding onto the Vampire for support.

"Sure you're not," Aidan responded amused. "Come on, up to your room." He pushed her lightly and steered her in the right direction. She shuffled up the stairs in protest, hands only lightly grabbing onto the rails and mainly relying on Aidan's guiding hand pushing on her shoulders.

"I don't wanna go to sleep Aidan," she whined, turning and facing him at the top of the stairs.

"You're just being ridiculous now. You've been wandering around this house like a zombie for the past week. You need sleep." He stopped at the entrance to her door and watched as she flopped onto the bed, burying her head in the pillows.

"Ugggghhhhhh."

"Goodnight Sally," he said in a bemused tone, shaking his head with a smile before closing her door. He headed over to his room, throwing off his clothing and collapsing on the bed in just his boxers. He breathed in the comforting smell of his pillow and ignored the slight hunger that clawed at his stomach. Getting under the covers, he closed his eyes and sighed contently, finally letting his weary body relax enough so that sleep could overtake him. Just as he was about to drift off into unconsciousness, there was a knock on the door and a creak as it opened up slightly.

"Aidan?" He cracked open an eye and raised his head, squinting at the form of Sally standing in the doorway.

"Go to sleep Sally," he muttered tiredly, his head flopping back down on his pillow.

"I can't…" her voice was quiet, hesitant.

"And what would you like me to do about th-" his sentence was cut off when he felt the bed dip on one edge and he snapped his head up to see Sally crawling toward him. "Sally what are you doing?" he asked, a bit annoyed and mystified by her behavior. She hesitated next to him before curling up against his side, her head on his shoulder and her arms hugging herself.

"Sally what's going on?" he asked in annoyance, resisting the urge to push her away. "When I said "go to sleep", I meant in your own bed."

"I don't want to sleep," she murmured softly. He slid away from her slightly, turning on his side so that he could see her face in the dark. Two tired and scared eyes met his and he sighed, propping himself up on an elbow.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving her a pointed look. "And don't make up an excuse!" he added, pointing at her with raised eyebrows. She opened her mouth and snapped it shut with a slight glare. But her look softened and she glanced down into the mattress, her fingers wringing the sheets as she curled up a little tighter.

"Falling asleep is like dying again. I'm afraid that if I close my eyes, I won't open them. I don't like the darkness. I've been given this chance to be alive; I don't want it taken away from me again." She didn't meet his eyes. Aiden reached out and covered her hand with his, effectively stopping her from trying to destroy his sheets and forcing her to look up at his face.

"You're not going to die if you sleep Sally," he said softly, feeling less annoyed at the human in front of him and more guilty that he hadn't understood this dilemma earlier.

"But do you know that for sure?" she stated, worry interlacing itself in her voice. "Do you know that I will wake up seven hours from now? Because I sure don't."

"Sally," Aidan began, sighing and squeezing her hand. "I promise you that you will be fine if you go to sleep." At her dubious look he tried to give her a tired smile. "Promise."

"Can I sleep here?" she asked quietly, giving him a small apologetic smile. He could practically see her falling into unconsciousness.

"No, go to sleep in your own bed," he stated, falling back down onto his pillow with a tired sigh.

"Please?"

"You're a grown woman Sally, you can handle sleeping in your own bed."

"But I'm scared." He glanced at her sideways and inwardly groaned. She looked so scared and pathetic, he couldn't be a monster and scare her away.

"Fine." He grumbled, and within seconds she was back at his side with her head on his shoulder and her legs crawling under the covers to touch his lightly.

"Thank you Aidan," she whispered, pressing a quick kiss to his jaw before snuggling down back into his shoulder with a content sigh. He closed his eyes in defeat, resting his arm on her waist and pulling her closer to him. He ignored the fact that there was blood rushing through her, and he ignored the way she slowly slid her hand across his chest to hug him loosely, and he tried with all his might to resist the temptation to turn his head slightly to the side and burry his nose in her curls. Instead he lay there and calmed his breathing in tune with hers, listening to her slip into sleep in a matter of minutes. It wasn't until he was sure that she was sleeping that he dared drop a soft and gentle kiss on her head and pretend that they weren't really who they were and that in the morning he could wake her with a kiss and a smile.

But he knew that as soon as she woke up, she'd be gone, and this night would go unspoken between them. He knew that the burning kiss on his jaw would keep him awake for hours when he knew she was tucked away safely in her bed. And he knew that he didn't want them to forget.


End file.
